noun
ecosystem
EE-koh-sis-tuhm/ˈiːkəʊsɪstəm/
A community of living things interacting with each other and their environment.
A healthy pond ecosystem supports fish, insects, plants, and bacteria.
Etymology
The environmental prefix joins a word meaning an organized whole made of connected parts. An ecosystem thus treats organisms and their surroundings as one interacting whole, rather than as separate things.
In context
they serve as a keystone species in this stark, stripped down ecosystem. [music] Unlike other scavengers, the Lamagaya doesn't fight over fresh [music] meat or organs. Instead, it waits silently [music] watching the slow decay of a carcass.
More examples
- Even a small tide pool contains a complex ecosystem.
- Removing wolves can disrupt the balance of an entire ecosystem.
- Desert ecosystems depend on plants and animals adapted to dry conditions.
Forms
ecosystem · ecosystems
Similar words
- community
- Includes interacting organisms but not their surrounding physical environment.
- biome
- Covers a large ecological region containing many individual ecosystems.